Week 27

So....you knew it was coming...the requisite long drawn out dissertation on my little birthday boy and all of his lovable attributes. What can I say, I am still a mother of only one; he is the object of all my affections. As I move forward, I am excited to leave the flat furnishing and birthday planning behind me and to look ahead to the development of the UK division of Sarah Anderson Photography, (in fact, I kind of have no idea what to do with myself this morning . . . the neighbor took Liam to school, my to-do list is currently all clear, everyone is healthy, and the cleaner is booked for Thursday so here I sit, feeling caught up for this very fleeting moment . . . hence, the early on-time blog writing) but for just one more blog post, I will focus on Liam and then I promise, I will move on!

But I mean, come on . . . turning 5 is kind of a big deal. It’s comparable to catapulting into adulthood really. It’s the year you go to kindergarten, when no one dare call you a toddler anymore or God forbid, “cute,” your mommy can shop at BabyGap no longer (sad sad face), you have to start paying bus fares (roll eyes) and you gotta play with the big boys from here on out at soccer class. This year in particular, I have noticed a massive change from Baby Liam to Kid Liam. Physically, he has grown about 3 inches I swear. Well, maybe not three inches, but still . . . all the pants we brought to London for him are all about that much too short. His face is fuller, more mature, brimming with so much knowledge and passion. The first two years of school were so internal for him, but this year it seems like everything he has absorbed since he started at 2 3/4 years is just exploding out of him. He has blossomed into a completely social and personable being, taking after his Daddy. Something to which, being an introvert myself, I cannot relate, but absolutely admire and love about him. He is the type of friend at school who wants to include everyone in his life and this year has found himself at the center of battles for his attention. We had a small get together at the Flat on Saturday and he was allowed five friends. At the end of the day, we felt so blessed to have made these kind of connections with such a wonderful group of people in such a relatively short amount of time here. I’d love to credit my unparalleled magnetic charm, but who am I kidding . . . all the credit goes to Liam’s personality (and also I think people here are just amazingly one hundred percent genuinely VERY nice and approachable).

We started the week on a high with a donut breakfast celebration, cupcakes at school, and present opening at home. We had to drag the little guy to bed in tears on Monday as he just did not want his big day to end. He soaked up every bit of undue attention! Then Tuesday, our high came crashing to a low when I received a phone call from his teacher at school (who was home sick no less) to tell me Liam had just had a bad fall. When I went in to pick him up, I almost cried when I saw his face. As the initial shock faded, I think Liam began to enjoy even more undue attention, and the week got better as we worked on party decorations together, built Lego birthday presents and baked a cake. The birthday party was totally alcoholic fun . . . on the verge of complete chaos the entire time, but fun nonetheless. 6 boys = a lot of competition, bickering, off the wall energy, secretive cake icing swiping, probably a little under the table kicking and behind the back biting, a few tears and maybe one or two all out-on the floor-screaming temper tantrums (thankfully not from the birthday boy although there was a moment there when one child unknowingly sat in the "birthday boy's chair" and I thought Liam was going to eat him), but also a LOT of giggling, silliness, and excitement. I now completely understand why people hire entertainers for this age range (and incidentally professional photographers . . . since I was the entertainment AND the professional photographer, both arenas suffered), but somehow everyone left with a smile on their face and no additional black eyes. Now I just have to wait for my little guy’s shiner to heal and the weather to look up so I can do his five year photoshoot!! Happy Birthday Liam!!